KUKA won the contract for the planning and supply of a fully automated battery pack line

In the fourth quarter of 2019, KUKA won the contract for the planning and supply of a fully automated battery pack line: a major double-digit million euro order. Starting 2021, battery systems for fully electric vehicles in the premium segment will be manufactured in this production facility.

Technological know-how for complex manufacturing

Not only the demanding process steps required for assembly, but also the high capacity and technical availability, the quality requirements and systematic acquisition of all relevant process data pose special challenges to this state-of-the-art and future-oriented production line.

KUKA is implementing its comprehensive technological know-how as well as over fifty KUKA industrial robots to meet these demands, encompassing the supply, cleaning and measuring of the battery frames, checking the battery modules to be installed, application of the thermal compound, assembling and fastening the individual modules in the battery frame, electrical contacting, sealing and screwing on the housing cover, and finally the leak test and quality inspection at the end of the line.

Transparent production and simplified operator control

Owing to the high importance and safety relevance of the battery systems, especially the traceability of the installed components and individual manufacturing steps in battery production are becoming ever more crucial: KUKA’s extensive portfolio centered on the “digital factory” offers key advantages. KUKA’s miKUKA control standard provides an efficient technology platform ensuring simple and transparent operator control and monitoring of the line via the user interface.

“Electromobility is absolutely a global market of the future,” stated Peter Mohnen, CEO of KUKA AG. “We are proud that KUKA wins out in this sector with its comprehensive expertise and experience in the automation of battery production, and that we are able to support our customers in the automotive industry by turning e-mobility into a reality.”

KUKA AG is an internationally active company with sales of around 3.5 billion euro and roughly 14,200 employees. It is one of the world’s leading suppliers of intelligent automation solutions. Their headquarters are in Augsburg, Germany.